All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
There are various optical imaging tools and methods that may be used in conjunction with biomedical diagnostics and treatments. For example, Diffuse Optical Spectroscopic Imaging (DOSI) is a technique that can quantify absorption and scattering coefficients of tissues up to several centimeters deep. Or, for example, SFDI (Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging) is a quantitative optical imaging modality that employs spatially-modulated to separate light scattering from absorption in its measurements. Unlike DOSI, SFDI is a wide-field optical technique, and works by taking advantage of the Fourier inverse of point source-detector measurements by projecting light into spatially sinusoidal patterns onto a sample such as a tissue sample. In turn, absorption and scattering quantification can give information about the sample, where by analyzing the spatial modulation transfer function for the diffusion of light within the tissue, both depth and quantifiable optical properties can be extracted for various practical applications. However, currently available optical imaging techniques are also not without their limitations and disadvantages. For example, limited speed is an issue in SFDI, where there is a need for multiple frames of data, and there are difficulties in increasing data acquisition speed to the frame-rate of a camera. Thus, there is a need in the art for more effective optical imaging devices and methods.